UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Beaver Stadium is one of the most iconic sports venues in the country, and the crown jewel of the Penn State football program.
From the outside looking in, on gamedys packed with 107,000 fans, the place is gorgeous. And generations of fans have made millions of wonderful memories there.
But in a lot of ways, the iconic stadium is also kind of a dump, with a whole lot of things that need to be addressed in order to remain a safe, practical and viable structure for the future.
All of which is going to cost money. Lots and lots and lots of money.
How much? We've never known for sure. Some have estimated half a billion dollars, a number that seems plausible given the magnitude of all the structural work the stadium will need over time.
The question, therefore, that's been around for some time has been: Should Penn State renovate Beaver Stadium for a huge cost, or try and build a new stadium for what would be an enormous cost?
After waiting several years, we were told Friday by new athletic director Pat Kraft that we won't have to wait too much longer to find out details about the stadium's future. There have been a whopping 19 studies done on Beaver Stadium, Kraft explained, and finally, the school is close to revealing its plan.
But Kraft, in his answer, already revealed the plan. He made it perfectly clear, without saying it directly, that Beaver Stadium will indeed be renovated rather than replaced.
First, Kraft talked about his love for the stadium.
"Look, I make no bones about it," he said, "I love this building. I love coming in this building, Beaver Stadium. I love the history of this building. When I walk the parking lots and I talk to people about having generations of memories in this building, so I want to make this building better, and we have to do that."
I followed up a few seconds later with this question to Kraft: The question has always been if you spend X amount on this versus a new stadium, what is the threshold? What's the point of no return where if you have to spend $600 million, $700 million, $800 million to renovate Beaver versus (build) another, how does that weigh into the equation?"
"To build a new stadium, there's a threshold," Kraft said. "Let me just put it that way. To build new anywhere, it's expensive. Let me just put it that way. I don't know. We have some numbers, but if you're building new ...
"Look, I'll tell you, we are very proud of having 107,000 and over 100,000 fans. No one is building 100,000 seat stadium. That's important to us. I think that's an important piece to who we are. So, yeah, there is a financial threshold that building new just would be -- it could be infeasible, not feasible with the financial piece."
After reading that, it doesn't take a rocket science to come to the conclusion that Penn State plans to renovate the stadium. As Kraft noted, a gigantic part of the school's identity -- not just the football program, but the university itself -- is having a football stadium with more than 100,000 seats. And then the part about "no one is building 100,000 seat stadium" is all you need to know, because Penn State isn't going to give up that distinction.
Whatever we think it might cost to undergo such a massive renovation, the fact of the matter is the number would pale in comparison to building a new stadium. You'd be talking at least $1.5 billion, and the number easily could end up being well over $2 billion.
So, that just ain't happening, folks.
Now, the danger for Penn State is cost over time. Because $1.5 billion for a new stadium sounds outrageous, but if the school has to spend $500 million in the coming years to fix the current problems, it's possible other issues could arise that would necessitate spending hundreds of millions more in 15-20 years. It is not, therefore, unrealistic to believe Penn State could end up spending $1 billion on the stadium over the next 25-30 years, which is why some have wondered if it would just be better to spend the whole $1.5 billion now and get something brand new.
Here's the real problem Penn State faces: The school needs money for Beaver Stadium, it needs money for other football facilities, it needs money for other facilities on campus, it needs money for NIL, it needs money to pay coaches.
Where is all this money going to come from?
If you take out whatever will be needed for the Beaver Stadium renovation, it still leaves the university needing, you'd think, somewhere close to $100 million to cover all this other stuff over a period of years. Terry Pegula paid for the hockey programs, but they can't just go to him for everything. Sure, Penn State has a massive alumni base, but how many of them are in position to donate the kind of money it will take to pull off all of these projects and ongoing NIL demands?
This is a major challenge, no doubt, because Penn State absolutely wants to keep up with the Joneses of college athletics, and yet, it could have a tougher time than most in that regard simply because of the vast amount of money it will require to renovate the stadium. Let's face it, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma and other programs vying to be elite aren't in the same boat as Penn State when it comes to the costs of stadium renovation needs.
Kraft also was asked about other renovations to athletic facilities, and he gave a lengthy answer about how he wants all of them improved. Of course he does. That's his job as athletic director. But wanting something and finding a way to pay for it are two separate issues.
Kraft got going on this issue talking about Rec Hall and the wrestling program, which is Penn State's most successful program with nine national titles since Cael Sanderson arrived. But without question, Rec Hall is old and outdated and in need of renovations.
"We have a nice wrestling facility, but we have to find enhancements there," Kraft said. "We're looking and exploring at how we can enhance that. The training room there is absolutely inadequate. We are working on studies to focus on enhancing the training room.
"You have the two volleyballs there. You have wrestling. Right now we have men's and women's soccer. We're actively working on finishing the fundraising for men's and women's soccer.
"When I go back to some of these questions about the coaches, if you don't have the sports performance piece, then you're not going to reach your full potential. So, when I look at Rec right now, those are the enhancements that I'm working, trying to figure out and trying to do in very short order.
"I would say the same at East, where we have our lacrosse and field hockey and tennis. What are we doing there? We have nutrition stations going in each of those. For example, in East -- this isn't what you asked about -- but the roof leaks. All the weight, it rusts. What are we doing?
"So, we have to fix the infrastructure, and we're looking at moving the locker rooms and giving them -- the rosters are getting bigger for all teams. So, those are the things when you look at our facilities, OK, how does it impact the student-athletes' experience?
"Volleyball, great atmosphere, great game day. Down the road would I love to explore what we could do with Rec? Yes. Right now, I've got to focus on the student-athlete, and that piece of it is really, really more important."
Kraft has a tough job balancing all of these needs -- those of the athletes compared to facilities upgrades -- but he seems like the right person to be leading Penn State through this phase.
He's a firecracker kind of guy with an abundance of passion, and you just get the feeling that when he goes into a room and asks donors for lots and lots of money, that somehow he's going to convince them to give it.
Penn State fans had better hope so. Because the amount of money it will take to keep up with the Joneses is going to be massive.
